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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Chocolate Fudge with Nutella

Marshmallows Add Oomph to this Easy Microwave Fudge

Making fudge in the microwave takes most of the work — and worry — out of the process.

Heating the ingredients until they reach the elusive “soft-ball” stage? A thing of the past. Cooling, then stirring (continuously!) until the fudge sets up properly? No longer an issue. Great taste that has you coming back for seconds and thirds? Very definitely!

Microwave fudge delivers superb flavor and texture in less time (and with much less fuss) than traditional stove-top recipes, as discussed in our post on Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge.

But hey, what about chocolate? Isn’t that what most people think when you say “fudge”?

Well, this recipe has you covered. It combines chocolate with Nutella, the European hazelnut spread that has taken the US (and most of the world) by storm. And it adds some mini marshmallows for interest.

Make this fudge and share it, and you may have a new BFFL (or several).

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge with Nutella

As was the case with our Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge, this isn’t a traditional recipe. Making fudge the old-fashioned way requires you to combine sugar, butter, milk, and usually additional ingredients. You heat the sugar mixture on top of the stove, and then mix in the butter by hand. The microwave greatly streamlines this process. Rather than rehash the hows and whys of the microwave method, we’ll just direct you to our post on peanut butter fudge.

Most of us have a weakness for chocolate. And fudge is one of the dishes that best showcase its deep, luscious flavor (the other, IMO, is Chocolate Brownies).

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs is the dessert maven in our house, and this recipe is hers. She adapted it from several recipes she discovered online. (For the record, there are dozens of microwave chocolate fudge recipes on the Internet. And Mrs K R seems determined to try — and tweak — them all.)

This recipe takes about 10 minutes or so of active time. Then you need to cool the fudge in the refrigerator (so it can solidify) before you cut it. Figure on about two hours for that (you can speed things up a bit by putting it in the freezer for a few minutes; see Notes).

Yield depends on how large you cut the pieces, but figure about five dozen 1-inch pieces. Leftovers keep in an airtight container for a week or so (store at room temperature). As if you’ll have any leftovers.

Ingredients

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

~ 10 ounces Nutella

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional; we didn’t use them in today’s batch of fudge, but often include them)

1 cup mini-marshmallows (optional)

Procedure

Butter an 8 by 8-inch pan and line it with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper.

Combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave-safe bowl (a 2-quart Pyrex container with lid is perfect). Cover with plastic wrap if you don’t have a lid for your container and you’re worried about “explosions” (optional, but not a bad thing to do). Microwave for 2 minutes on high.

Stir, and then microwave on high for another minute or two, until the mixture is fully melted (microwave times vary). Caution: Mixture will be very hot when you remove it from the microwave.

Add the vanilla to the melted mixture and stir in. Then add the Nutella and stir to combine, using a wooden spoon or spatula. Heat in the microwave for a few seconds as the mixture becomes too stiff to stir.

Add the chopped walnuts (if using), and stir to combine.

Allow mixture to cool to near room temperature before mixing in marshmallows (if using). If you don’t allow the mixture to cool, the marshmallows usually melt into the hot fudge and disappear — still tasty, but you don’t get the “chunky” effect.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover the surface of the fudge with additional parchment paper. Refrigerate until chilled and firm (you can cut it after an hour, although it will be gooey; chilling about 2 hours is better).

Turn chilled fudge onto a cutting board and cut into pieces of about 1-inch or so each.

Notes

There’s no added sugar in this recipe. Between the chocolate chips, condensed milk, Nutella, and marshmallows, there is already plenty of sweetness.

Nutella is a hazelnut-and-chocolate spread that was introduced in 1963 by the Italian company Ferrero. In many countries, it’s marketed as “hazelnut cream” because it doesn’t contain sufficient cocoa to be labeled “chocolate” cream.

The exact quantity of Nutella isn’t critical in this recipe. We’ve used amounts ranging from 8 to 13 ounces, always with good results.

Condensed milk was first developed in France in 1820, but was subsequently “reinvented” in the US by Gail Borden, Jr. in 1853. Borden produced one of the first commercial brands of condensed milk in the US.

The Borden company underwent a leveraged buyout in the 1990s and the company was eventually dissolved. Today Eagle brand is probably the most commonly found condensed milk in the US, but all brands are more or less the same.

You should use high quality (pure) vanilla extract in this recipe. Its flavor is so much better than the imitation kind.

Pure vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in a mixture of water and alcohol for several months. BTW, the FDA requires that pure vanilla extract contain at least 35% alcohol. If the label doesn’t say “pure,” that means it’s made from synthetic vanilla. The artificial kind is usually derived from the sapwood of several species of conifers — or from coal extracts! How appetizing (not).

The flavor of some imitation vanillas can be nasty. You don’t have to spend a fortune on pure vanilla extract, but getting decent quality does mean spending a bit more for something that’s not loaded with sugar or imitation flavoring. Do yourself a favor and get the real stuff.

If you’re really in a hurry to eat this and can’t wait for the fudge to chill in the refrigerator, you can stick it in the freezer for half an hour or so (ask us how we know this). Results are OK, but the texture is better if you refrigerate.

Turning the Chocolate Up to 11

“Interesting,” I said as I sampled my second piece of fudge. “This has a very chocolate-forward flavor. I do notice some hazelnut, but it’s an undertone.”

“Yeah, that surprised me,” said Mrs. Kitchen Riffs. “I thought the Nutella would dominate more. Instead, it just deepens and enriches the flavor of the chocolate.”

“Which is OK by me,” I said. “I like Nutella, but it’s way too sweet to use as a spread. In a dessert like this, though? Perfect!”

“I’ll take peanut butter over Nutella in a sandwich too,” Mrs K R agreed. “And peanut butter makes a mean fudge or cookie. But in this recipe, the Nutella definitely works.”

“It sure does!” I said enthusiastically, reaching for my third piece of fudge.

I never thought of making fudge in the microwave, it DOES sound so much easier! MY mom always slaves over her fudge for hours which has probably been the reason I have never made it on my own! Now I have a new recipe to try :) It looks beautiful. Thanks!

Hi John, I guess my next step would be buying a microwave! really, those fudges are so beautiful and easy to make indeed! Or, I just drive up to St.Louse when the weather is nicer... :) We had a Nutella conversation yesterday with my teenager and my parents. As I was chatting with my parents via Skype, teenager made himself a cup of tea and spread some nutella on a slice of bread. When my mother asked what he was eating, I told them it was Nutells. Then teenager said: "they don't know what Nutella is". "yes, they do", I said. "You ate it all the time you were there". He shook his head, and said: "no, it wasn't nutella, it was hazelnut spread". "???, isn't it the same?", I asked him. And my parents added to him: "you always have nutella when you visit us". Then after a short pause teenager said: "well, this nutella is sweeter that the one they sell there (in Europe)". Now I am curious... :)

Hi Marina, you could drive to St. Louis! Or it might be more convenient to get a microwave, although then you'd need to figure out where to put it. I wonder if the Nutella in Europe is less sweet than what we have? I find it too sweet for a spread, but it's really good as an ingredient in something like this. Thanks for the comment.

What beautiful looking fudge. It almost looks like rocky road with the marshmallows. I love nutella too but I try to have it in moderation - gotta watch those BSL levels! I will try this microwave version of a fudge - it does seem to have greatly simplified the fudge-making process xx

Those pieces glistening look SO good! I love Nutella and have since I was little, now my children enjoy it. These are gorgeous and i bet they would taste good with some roasted hazelnuts added. I've made fudge once...time to do it again i think.

Hi Kim, this is fabulous. And I admire your skill - cooking fudge on the stove has its challenges. The microwave is so much easier. Saves time that we can spend eating. Win win. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

You two are going to make me make some fudge aren't you? :) Between this and the peanut butter fudge, I'm developing a very strong fudge craving! I do have to admit that I would omit the marshmallows in this fudge. Neither Bobby nor I are big on marshmallows, but I guess I could add more nuts - right? Thanks for the temptation and the inspiration!

Hi MJ, you can totally omit the marshmallows — although they do add both visual and textural interest. But Mrs K R often omits them. And yes, we'd be delighted to make you some fudge. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Now that is what I call a perfect recipe for fudge... Only problem being that we do not have a microwave (sometimes you make wrong decisions when deciding on a new kitchen layout...) at present... I've been wanting to make fudge for a long time but keep thinking it is too hard but this would have been just perfect!

Hi Simone, I can see doing without a microwave - we don't actually use ours all that much (and when we do it's often to reheat stuff). But when it comes to chocolate, it's really a great tool - it's absolutely the best way to melt chocolate, for example. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks, John, for sharing another great recipe. I love anything chocolate and this one, being microwaveable, is so easy to prepare. I just have so little discipline when it comes to fudge. I make it for gifts so that I've none around here to munch. Unbeknownst to the giftees, I've become pretty adept at pinching a segment without leaving so much as a crumb behind as evidence. Granted, this is hardly a talent on the same plane as those of DaVinci but he couldn't eat his paintings.

Hi John, it'd be great to be DaVinci, but not being able to eat the paintings would be a bummer. Better to stick to food. ;-) We actually give away a lot of the sweets we make. But we always sample. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Chocolate, marshmallows and nutella together? That's just heaven, seriously any chocoholics or with a prolific sweet tooth dream. It would even get me to try microwave which I normally avoid like plague...

Hi Bam, there's a reason why we only post sweet stuff every few weeks! Except in December, of course. You really can't eat just one piece. Knowing that, Mrs K R always cuts the pieces much smaller than those in the photos - no more than an inch square. Thanks for the comment.

Can you believe I have yet to try Nutella? I see it on the shelves at the store all the time and think I should buy some just for the fun of it. Now you've given me a good reason to pick some up. Fudge is one of the few candies that I really love.

Oh goodness I've had a love affair with fudge since I was a little girl and tried it at Famous Barr. I loved their fudge. This sounds so quick an easy, who could resist. I can't wait to try it when I need a quick fix.

Hi John,I definitely have a weakness for chocolate. If I were to make these fudges at home they would be finished by the end of the day, since my boys love chocolate too. I grew up with Nutella and love the taste of it. Great post.

Hi Frank, we had to really watch it when we made this - we could have easily inhaled the whole batch between the two of us. Fortunately we were able to give a good bit of it away! Thanks for the comment.

Although I didn't grow up with Nutella like Frank did, I love anything and everything with Nutella. can't wait to make this on my own. I am also a big nut person so I have no doubt I'll like this treat. Thank you.

Decided to make this, bought the ingredients, and started setting up only to realize that in Canada condensed milk is sold in smaller volumes than in the US, in a 300ml can (roughly 10 oz.). Now I have to dust off my math skills to convert quantities. Hope this works out because the pictures look delicious.

Hi Laura, don't you hate that?! The conversion shouldn't be too difficult, although I'm sorry about that. Food companies keep shrinking the size of containers anyway, so we have to keep adjusting recipes to adapt - one of my pet peeves! Thanks for the comment.